The play was set, and Damian Lillard executed it to perfection. Coming off a timeout, Blazers head coach Terry Stotts set up a high screen for him to exploit any way he chose, and he chose right. With Caleb Swanigan in the way, the Jazz鈥檚 Joe Ingles — not fleet of foot to begin with — was toast. It was Dame Time, and he showed it with a quick drive to the hoop that even the 18,306 fans at the Vivint Smart Home Arena figured to be a sure bucket. It didn鈥檛 matter that Rudy Gobert got a hand on his layin and prevented it from going through the hoop. It hit glass first, rendering the block illegal and netting him two points to tie the game.
There was just one problem, however: Not a single one of the officials saw the violation. Gobert鈥檚 rejection was thus deemed legitimate and, because it drew no whistle, not subject to review. The Blazers were, needless to say, livid. They felt they were robbed of a tie, and, in light of Lillard鈥檚 match-long heroics, their sixth win in seven outings. Instead, the Jazz would go on to claim victory, snapping a five-contest losing skein. And so incensed were they that they continued to rant long after the final buzzer. The threat of fines notwithstanding, they were vocal in their protestations. Lillard, Stotts, and CJ McCollum minced no words taking the referees to task.
To be fair, the men in gray did own up to the mistake. Crew chief Josh Tiven admitted that 鈥渨e missed the play鈥 after going through the standard post mortem. The National Basketball Association鈥檚 Last Two Minute Report was likewise clear, deeming it an 鈥淚ncorrect Non-Call.鈥 Significantly, it likewise underscored the limitations of the current review process. 鈥淕oaltending is only a reviewable matter when it is whistled on the floor by officials,鈥 it noted. Argued Lillard, 鈥渢hree referees out there, and they don鈥檛 call that. I don鈥檛 wanna see no report about, 鈥極h, we should鈥檝e called it鈥 or none of that. They cost us the game. We in a playoff race, and they cost us the game on an easy call.鈥
Significantly, the evident goaltend, even on real time, wasn鈥檛 the only thing that escaped the arbiters鈥 eyes. For some reason, the game clock stopped at 1:43 after Royce O鈥橬eal made a trey to push the Jazz鈥檚 advantage to five. Not a single tick in the ensuing 12 seconds the Blazers used up to get Swanigan a 12-foot jumper was then officially reflected. Today, league records will show a difference of a single second between the two scores. And, tellingly, there is no mention of it in the Last Two Minute Report.
If there鈥檚 anything the Blazers-Jazz tiff proved, it鈥檚 that the league鈥檚 Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey should be given greater leeway. The system was set up to uphold the integrity of proceedings, not place them under even bigger clouds of doubt. It can鈥檛 be the cause of letting a wrong stand, or — as in the case of the Christmas Day contest between the Lakers and Clippers — turning a right into a wrong. And unless and until the Competition Committee finds the proper fixes, Lillard and Company won鈥檛 be the last to complain with reason.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since 大象传媒 introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
